Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2021 - ENGL 457W D100

Topics in Asian North American Literature (4)

Class Number: 2584

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 9, 2021: Tue, Thu, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Aug 13, 2021
    Fri, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Yiwen Liu
    yla474@sfu.ca
    Office Hours: Thursdays 14:00-15:00, and by appointments

  • Prerequisites:

    One 300 division English course. Reserved for English honours, major, joint major, minor and creative writing minor students.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Investigates topics in Asian-Canadian and/or Asian-American literature. The course may vary according to theoretical, historical or geographical focus. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

English 457W: Asian/American Articulations: Cultural Identity and the Nation

As identity categories, Asian American and Asian Canadian are born out of civil rights movements in the last three decades of the 20th century. Like all categories, these terms are both empowering and confining. On the one hand, they provide a productive means to address racialized experiences in white settler nation-states. On the other hand, the terms reinforce a nation-based framework despite their intention to expose the racist foundation of these nation-states. Employing the notion of “Asian/American”—an idea explored in recent scholarship—this course aims to understand “Asian” not as a modifier to the national identity of American or Canadian, but as a diverse and everchanging subject group who always and already partake in the making of North America. By examining novels, short stories, poetry, documentary films and video essays, this course is an invitation to think through how to situate the cultural identity of Asian/American against and alongside national discourses. This course begins with conversations with history and memory. We will discuss how Asian/American subjects formulate, transform, and reclaim their cultural identity in times of juridical denial of rights (e.g. the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Continuous Journey Regulation) and violent displacement (e.g. Segregated Chinatown, Japanese internment). We then proceed to discuss the possibility and necessity for different Asian/American communities to empathize and connect with each other via nationalized and racialized injustices. Finally, we will end by examining how Asian/American subjects negotiate their cultural identity facing the legacy of the Cold War on the one hand and the rise of Asian nation-states on the other.

This is a W course so we will spend time developing writing and revision skills.

Grading

  • Critical Response Paper (1000-1500 words) 20%
  • Group Research Presentation (15-20 mins), Write-ups, and Discussion Facilitation (25-30 mins) 25%
  • Semester Project (a. 200-word Abstract + b. 5-page Mini Essay with Peer Review + c. Orally-Delivered Final Paper Proposal + d. 12-page Final Paper) 40%
  • Active participation and attendance 15%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

All the listed texts are ordered through SFU Bookstore. You can also purchase them via Amazon, BookDepository, AbeBooks, and your local bookstores (e.g. Massy Books, Iron Dog Books, Pulpfiction Books). Whichever way you choose to obtain the course texts, please take shipping and delivery time (1-6 weeks) into consideration. Other readings and viewings will be available via Canvas.

REQUIRED READING:

Chandra Prasad, Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience
Andrew Lam, Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora
Joy Kogawa, Itsuka
Krys Lee, How I Became a North Korean
Kawika Guillermo, Stamped: An Anti-Travel Novel

*Other readings and viewings will be available via Canvas.


Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SUMMER 2021

Teaching at SFU in summer 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods, but we will continue to have in-person experiential activities for a selection of courses.  Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).